The Choices We Make
by Say You Wont Care
Summary: After watching his best friend fall to the ground dead, and then seemingly rise from the dead, Danny is no determined to find out exactly what is going on. No longer satisfied with watching everything play out from the sidelines he begins his search, and not even Jackson is going to stand in his way of finding out the truth.


Teen Wolf: The Decisions We Make

It was happening again, Jackson was dying, they were zipping up the body bag. My eyes burned with tears, I call out, I fight to get to him. Not Jackson. My dad holds me back. 'Let me go' I scream over and over, but they never do. Ms. McCall is there next to the body, she tells Lydia to support his head, blood is all over the field. I scream but no sound leaves my lips. The air is hot, the fog is thick, my body feels heavy, I can't breathe, I can't think. People are screaming and running, but they don't matter to me. Spending so much time watching in the background, not ever speaking up, letting it all just happen I couldn't live with it ending this way. Ms. McCall shakes her head, the paramedic's double check, Lydia trembles and cries silently as her mom drags her away. No, I think desperately. But my parents just keep dragging me back, further and further away. My eyes meet Lydia's as they load him into the body bag; that cold, black, horrible body bag. They zip it up and Jackson disappears within, I drop to my knees, Lydia turns away as the tears flow freely down my face.

My best friend is dead they tell me, and I can't see him. Lydia argues with them, we both demand to see him, neither of us really believing he is dead. They didn't know Jackson like we did, he wouldn't just go silently into the dark, he would fight because that's what he does when he wants something bad enough. My lips are dry as I beg to let me in, but they don't listen, they don't care. Voice catching in my throat I leave the front desk, I don't know where to go, how to react, so I just walk. Hallway after hallway I just walk and walk. My mind flashes and I see Jackson bleeding out on the ground again; I close my eyes biting back the pain, my body shaking, forcing away the empty hole in my chest. That's when I smell a familiar scent.

"Scott?" I breathe looking around, but not seeing him.

I follow it as best I can; it's surprisingly thick on the air like its leading me somewhere. Then the smell changes and I instantly recognize it, my face flushing with color. Someone else, someone new on the lacrosse team, someone I was starting to- I cut off my train of thought. I'm just about to turn a corner when I see her standing there. I didn't know her, but she was beckoning me forward, like she wanted to tell me something. She had dark hair, and was gorgeous but in a simple way, with eyes that reminded me a lot of someone I had met on a few occasions. She calls out to me, 'Danny' her voice barely above a whisper, a sweet and kind voice, 'You can't go there, come with me. I can tell you what you need to know." Well that didn't make any sense I thought looking at her in confusion. She opens her mouth to say something else but nothing comes out, and like dust in the wind she vanishes before my eyes.

I turn around, looking for a logical explanation, but when I do I'm no longer at the hospital but at Jungle. My eyes grow wide slowly becoming more confused. What was happening? Then I see myself across the dance floor, I'm dancing with the guy from the night I was paralyzed. Scott and Stiles are at the bar, they look bewildered as if searching for someone. Something moves above my head on the dance floor, then the scene changes again and I collapse onto the floor unable to move. I freeze up at the sight, I could still remember exactly what that felt like, the helplessness and undeniable feeling that you could die if you didn't get free of whatever was happening to your body. Feet are running all around me, and then the scene changes; I'm standing beside myself on a stretcher as Scott checks on me. He was nice to worry, but now I couldn't help but wonder why he was there. Sure I had danced with him at the Formal, but Scott loved Allison so he wasn't there for the guys.

Next, things flash all at once, I hear Jackson fighting with Scott about a secret. 'I will find out whatever it is you are hiding McCall.' He says slamming his hand on the locker and clenching his jaw. Then I'm watching Jackson slowly distance himself from everyone, he doesn't return my calls, he's missing most days, he doesn't talk, it's like he isn't even the same person. He tells me to stay in the goal, I still don't ask what's going on, I stay silent and do what Jackson tells me. He looked so worried about me, so scared, I never thought to question him. He knew something was going to happen to him. Suddenly I'm back on the lacrosse field alone except for the body bag and the blood on the grass. The lump forms in my throat as I move forward. I am almost to it when it trembles stopping me dead in my tracks.

Rubbing my eyes I look harder and see just at the top, where the bag can be unzipped, a razor sharp claw erupts and slices down the body bag. My heart stops and I stumble back. Then to my horror Jackson rises from the body bag, broken and damaged, he looks at me, turning his head in one smooth disturbing motion. His eyes aren't his own but more like snake eyes, but abruptly he is Jackson again and he looks terrified.

"RUN! DANNY! JUST RUUUUUN!" he screams at me chilling me to the bone.

I can't move though, it's like the night at the club, I just fall to the ground but when I am able to look at the body bag Jackson is gone. The lights of the field go out, the cold grass is damp against my face and I hear a sound in the distance. A slithering sound that moves closer and closer until it is right over me. Something lifts me from the ground, easily holding me up.

"You have to stop seeing what they want you to see Danny." A woman whispers in my ear. At first I don't realize it, but then it hits me and I remember the lady from the hospital. "You have to open your eyes before it's too late. They have chosen their paths, now it's the choices we make that count."

I shoot up in bed, my heart hammering, covered in cold sweat. It was a dream. B-but it felt so real, I thought, I could smell, taste, and hear every single detail. I look at the clock and check my phone. One missed text from Jackson, I sigh in relief, it's been a week since the lacrosse game and Jackson is very much alive I remind myself. Falling back onto my pillows I check the text, he is canceling again. He was avoiding me, which was very clear. Always talking to Scott, Stiles, Lydia and everyone but me, I felt the bitter resentment build up. Some best friend.

The rest of the day passed by quickly enough, and seeing my first opportunity I take it. Lydia is standing alone at her locker, finally without Jackson or someone else around. Pulling my backpack up on my shoulder I approach her.

"Hey Lydia. Have you seen Jackson?" I ask. "I feel like he is avoiding me."

She avoids looking at me and licks her lips. "Nope, haven't seen him."

I frown, "You really are a horrible liar, you know that right?" I let out a low breath and look away, "Guess that means he really is avoiding me."

She looks at me, "He's not avoiding you, he's just," she pauses, "Sick. He's at home with a fever" She gives me a nod like that settles it.

I look at her, knowing she is lying as I had him in Mr. Harris' class. The conversation ended shortly after, neither of us knowing what to say. We were nice enough to each other, but she was lying and I could tell. They all were, Scott, Stiles, Lydia, Allison, and now Jackson was in on the same secret and it had something to do with what happened at the game. I had practice so I headed off to the locker room to change when I stumbled into Derek's uncle Peter Hale. My eyes grow wide with shock as he smirks at me.

"Hello Danny." He says giving me chills from head to toe. Something about him just scared me beyond rationality.

I look up, trying not to look freaked out as I rub my arm awkwardly. "Um, Hello Mr. Hale."

"It's Peter, Mr. Hale was my father." He pauses looking me right in the eye. "You have a good day now." Still looking me in the eye he flashes a smile that I can only describe as evil and gives me the urge to run for my life. It's as if he is purposefully trying to freak me out.

"O-okay," I croak, stumbling over my own feet as I back up, "I have to find Jackson. See you later Mr. Ha-I mean Peter."

His smile widens as he says, "We will be seeing you Danny." And just like that he walks away.

I wait until I see him disappear around a corner and then haul it as fast as I can to the locker room where to my shock I find Jackson alone and changing. The moment with Peter in the hallway completely wiped from my mind.

Not missing a beat I yell, "You done avoiding me now?"

He looks up, unsurprised, "Yeah, why not." And lets out a typical Jackson laugh.

"You have been avoiding me since you almost died, why," I pause and look at him critically, "_best friend_?"

He gives another one of his dodgy laughs and clenches his jaw, "Does it matter? It's best we don't talk anyway."

My body jolts in shock and I step towards him, "Wh-" I stop, looking furious, "Oh so this friendship only works one way? You need to fix a tape, ask Danny, you need to do this, ask Danny. You need to get it together dude, I'm always on your side so don't just blow me off."

"Well maybe you shouldn't be! I need you for stuff yeah." He rolls his eyes in that annoying way, "But I'm there for you too."

My anger ebbs a little, "Jackson, I know you, and I know you are hiding something, and I am going to find out what it is." I pause, looking him right in the eye. "Even if it kills me."

He shakes his head, "No, no you won't."

I frown, trying to figure out what he is thinking, "So you really aren't going to tell me what you, Scott, and everyone else are hiding from me?"

He looks down at the ground and then back up at me, "Maybe, maybe another time. I don't know dude." He pauses, "With Scott maybe."

I feel so irrationally jealous over Scott knowing these things, of putting him above me after everything, that I storm over to my locker and slam my backpack down, "Now it's Scott you trust?"

He shakes his head, "I don't trust him, not a chance."

My eyes narrow critically, "He knows your secret, he knows what happened after I went home thinking you were DEAD, I watched you get put into a body bag Jackson, A FREAKING BODY BAG," My rage, sadness and every emotion builds as I go to hit the locker but then a thought occurs to me, "You know what, forget it." Turning on the spot I walk to the doors.

"Danny chill out!" he grabs my arm, pulling me back. "If you want to stay safe," he pauses revealing the scars on his stomach, "Don't try to figure this out."

My eyes see the cuts; they look horrible, like they haven't healed at all. Fear creeps inside of me as I flash back to the dreams. I look into his eyes with fear for him, "Oh my god, Jackson! What did this?"

"You don't want to know!" he yells, eyes bulging desperate for me to drop it. Not this time Jackson, I thought, not anymore.

My eyes steel with my resolve, I look at him making sure I'm getting my point across, "If it was me in that body bag, if it was me with that cut, what would you do?"

He looks back at me, his jaw tight, but his eyes racked with worry, "I would find out exactly what happened no matter what."

"That's what I thought." I say with a smirk, "This all started when Derek came back into town, I'm going to find Derek"

As I turn to leave his jaw tightens with anger again, balling up his fists, "You're going to regret it."

I look over my shoulder, "Do you regret it?"

His eyes drop, "Kind of, if it doesn't end well for you, which it won't" he looks at me, trying to hide the worry and looks away again, "You'll regret it." He starts to walk back to his locker.

"I know one thing though, no matter what if it gets bad you will be there so I'm okay with that."

He rolls his eyes and nods but adds, "You don't get it."

"I will soon enough, tell coach I'm sick" I start for the door shooting him one last look.

He tries to stop me but I leave before he can say anything else, getting in my car and driving as quickly as I possibly can to the Hale house. Everyone knew where it was so I found it easily. The house looked exactly like the stories, all burnt and broken. A shell of a house, it looked more like something from a scary movie than something where a happy family once lived. Everyone said Derek was always here, and this was the first place I could look, but looking at it I wasn't so sure it was a good idea.

I got out of my car feeling the dirt grind beneath my feet, summoning the last of my anger I yell, "Derek! You here?!"

Nothing happened at first. I look around the woods, wondering if he could be out there doing whatever creepy things he does. I begin to turn back to the house starting to feel strangely about my decision. It was so quiet, no animals making noise, no wind blowing, only the sound of my own breathing.

"He's not here at the moment." Says a voice behind me startling me so bad I almost jump out of my skin. Spinning around I realize I know that voice, but as it almost comes to me I lose it again. It's there but just out of my grasp, like I'm not supposed to know just yet. The woman who spoke stood upon the porch looking at me kindly. "Need anything?"

I sputter out a few words, not making much sense and then I swallow hard looking up at her, "I just needed to know something, s-something important."

She walks slowly towards me. "I'll pass the message along, what is it?"

I take a step away as she approaches, "I don't really know you," I feel uncertain of what to say, "It's kind of personal." I swallow again trying to meet her eyes.

"Why so nervous?" she asks tilting her head.

I laugh nervously trying to get my bearings, "They told me Derek was the only person here. W-who are you?"

She smiles, "I'm his sister, Laura."

Her eyes did remind me of Derek's, and Peters too. But then I remember something my face contorting with disgust, "That's not funny, Laura died. Everyone knows that. Derek wouldn't appreciate this."

I go to get in my car as she calls out, "How is that possible when I am right here."

The conviction in her voices holds me at bay, "B-but the police found your-I mean her body. She was," I pause swallowing, "Torn apart by an animal or something."

She shrugs, "Must have been another Laura." She gives me a playful smirk. I pull out my phone and text Jackson asking if he remembers if Laura Hale did die. Then, in a flash, she is next to me looking at me with her friendly eyes. She was suspicious, "What are you doing?"

I jump, fear creeping into my eyes, I hold up the phone. "I-my-friend wanted to know why I wasn't at practice."

She raises an eyebrow, "Jackson, isn't it?"

I nod, "Yeah," feeling my phone vibrate with Jackson's reply. "I-I need to check that, do you mind?"

She gives me another kindly smile, "Not at all." She turns and walks slowly back to the house.

I start to open my phone saying, "Derek going to be back anytime soon?" No reply comes. I look up, not reading the text. She is gone, vanished into thin air. Looking around frantically she is nowhere to be found, and the door is closed firmly. I look back down at my phone to see Jackson's reply.

[Yeah, that was Laura Hale. It was all over the news. Why?]

Looking back up at the house I feel chills creeping up my spin, my blood going cold as a sense of dread comes over me. What was happening to me? As I got in my car again I hear the woman's voice from the dream, 'They have chosen their paths, now it's the choices we make that count.'


End file.
